Testing the market through the summer to see if its worth opening a shop after i retire. She was amazed and pleased oh and cute This car was filthy. Cleaned the inside first, door jambs everything, Aerospace 303 on the dash etc. (great stuff) then hand washed, claybarred and NXT, and of course all the chrome and black exterior dressing. RainX on the windows and strawberry freshener. I don't miss my truck after this. She said she was going to spread the word and i think i already have a couple more lined up. Camera sucks btw. Just sharing the hard work...

 

Bmc, very nice job! Black's the toughest color b/c you really can't hide anything, so you broke yourself into the biz with the proper gauge of your abilities. Looks like you've found yourself a new day job

 

How many hours did it take you, and what did you charge her?

 

Looks green, not black. Though it could be my eyes going . Still a very nice job. Good work. Black is a damn tough color. I think my next car will be silver/yellow. They seem easier to clean plus hide scratches better.

good luck with the detailing business, don't forget to offer discounts to fellow 8 owners! :D

 

Nice work. Taking a dirty truck and making it into a fine looking vehicle should give you a sense of pride as well.

BTW, if she was cute, I want to know *how* she paid you.

 

Oops, you're right--it is green. Damn, my eyesight must be shot these days!

 

Thanks it is green although I don't even think she new it was that color took me five hours inside and out. I would charge about $150 for that normally but because she was my first one (and cute) i charged her half price. A car, probably $120 range. Good thing for them the followups wouldn't have to be claybarred and would be much cheaper but i am trying to educate everyone i know on the benefits and of course they love the feel of my paint but have no desire to spend 4 or 5 hours cleaning top to bottom, inside and out. Thats what i am counting on. I didn't mind charging her half this time because i love the reaction after they see the finished product and she is going to be my advertisement. Have a couple more asking so hopefully it will take off and I told her the rest would be normal price.

 

Take a pic of the cutie next to the truck for advertising A little t&a helps the bottom line, uh, maybe not the bottom line below your belt, but go for it

 

markd, don't feel so bad man, I talked to a Nordic Green 8 owner for a half hour giving him compliments on his black 8. He finally said, "dude, it's not black, it's green". Sad thing was I was standing right next to it. That color is hard on the eyes

bmc, that seems like a good price, I've been checking in our area and have seen everything from $80 to $190 depending on how much I wanted done. Did you do the eigine bay as well? If so that's a darn good price (from a customer's POV).


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1 more post till 4th century, better make it a good one :D

 

Labop I didn't do the engine for the sole reason I was already giving her one heck of a deal at $60 bucks but that would be included normally. I wonder if i can convince her to pose? I would have to get clearance from my wife and her husband She is filipina/hawaiin Lt in the Air Force, yum yum...

 

OMG, that's hysterical! At least I made the mistake from looking at a picture. Thanks for making me feel not-so-old again :D As for your post count, have fun. This is actually my 667th post--For the life of me, until now, I couldn't find a thread worth posting in that would get me past 666!

 

You shouldn't feel bad at all. I dropped my car in today for brakes, etc. As I was leaving the rental car place i look at my service paperwork and it says RX8 black

 

hmm....next time clean the white letters on the tires...makes a big difference....truck that size at my shop would run about $250 give or take the bells and whistles...

Dont make the mistake of charging too little....hard work and love cost money

 

Trust me, I would have did the engine and the white lettering if it wasn't such a cut rate but like I said its a good way to get people talking and now i am going to make business cards and i have a few shops that are going to let me place them. Since I still work fulltime I can only do it on weeknights and weekends so its a good start.

 

Definately is...The truck looks great! Better yet, instead of just placing cards at the shop, have the shop service advisors sell the details for you in exhange for a percentage. Extra revenue for the shop (or service advisor) plus an excellent customer service/conveinience tool. It allows the shop to offer a wider more complete range of services and provides you with steady work.

This really works. Shops we work with have customers who get the car "sent to detail" every time it is in for service at the shop.

 

Great idea Bat. I have a couple of shops that I will go talk to. Anything to get customers built up, thank you.